The graphic novel series of the Dresden Files gets another interesting and weird-magic entry in War Cry, this time dealing with the horror of the Red Court and of the shoggoth (think Lovecraft).
War Cry
Jim Butcher and Mark Powers
pencils by Carlos Gomez
colors by Mohan
lettering by Bill Tortolini
ISBN: 9781606905746
This story falls between Dead Beat and Proven Guilty in the novel sequence, and significantly after the events of Ghoul, Goblin in the graphic novel narratives.
This short graphic novel collection sees newly minted Warden Harry Dresden playing nanny to two wet-behind-the-ears baby Wardens, along with old friend and ally Carlos Ramirez. The group of them is tasked with evacuating or protecting a midwestern coterie of Venatori (the Dresden Files equivalent of Potterverse Squibs; no powers, but lots of knowledge of the arcane world).
Of course, this being the Dresden Files, everything goes to shit before the story even properly begins, and the tiny outnumbered group is confronted with a night full of horrors. Not to worry, Harry has horrors on his own side, not the least of which is his family. The night may be long, but the sun always rises in the morning, and like any good Dresden Files story, there are going to be fireworks before the end of it all.
I'm not as thrilled with Gomez' characterizations of women (seriously, the sexy librarian trope has GOT TO STOP), but his work on Harry and the trio of Wardens is clear and defined, while the Red Court and the shoggoth are appropriately nasty and unsettling.
While I'm sad that the graphic treatments of the books hasn't continued (I was really looking forward to seeing the illustrated treatment of Grave Peril) I have to say that I'm enjoying these narrative interludes. Now that the main sequence has gone so far down the dark and powerful path, I have not been keeping up with them, and these little short bits allow me to still enjoy the universe even though the current work is too depressing for me.
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